Electric lamp mounting and current supply connection



Oct. 15, 1935. T. w. FRECH ET AL ELECTRIC LAMP MOUNTING AND CURRENT SUPPLY CONNECTION Filed March 30 1933 m W T mm 0 Wm a T mam TER JEEJEEA .&

Y My wag.) THEIR AT TDRNEY Patented Oct. 15, 1935 PATENT oFFicE ELECTRIC LAMP MOUNTING AND CURRENT SUPPLY CONNECTION Theodore'W. Frech, Shaker Heights, and Walter J. Geiger, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, assignors to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application March 30, 1933, Serial No. 663,518

6 Claims.

Our invention relates to the mounting and current supply connections of electric incandescent lamps and similar devices, and includes bases for such lamps. We aim to provide efiicient and inexpensive means of electrical connection for this purpose, and to secure other advantages that will become apparent hereinafter.

According to our invention, we provide a lamp (or its base) with one or more pins which serve as electrical terminals therefor, and effect connection to such pins by means of a connectormounted on the end of a conductor. The connector comprises a helical spring which is deformed so that the axis thereof is not a straight 18 line. The preferred form of connector comprises a helial spring having a portion thereof ofiset to insure firm contact with one of said pins. Instead of offsetting the spring connector, it is also possible to distort the axis of the pin and use a symmetrical helical spring connector. Such constructions are particularly adaptable for use on vehicle headlight lamps, especially when the lamp and reflector are made as a fixed unit as described hereinafter, and the conventional 2 socket thus dispensed with. Our invention affords an improved electrical connection to the lamp as compared with the conventional connection, in which a button on the base of the lamp makes contact with the end of a pin in the socket:

e. g., our connection with its low resistance entails a voltage drop of only about one-tenth volt, as compared with a. drop of about one-half volt at each contact in the conventional type of socket connection, an advantage of considerable consequence on the usual low voltage lighting circuits of motor vehicles. Further features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description of species thereof, and from the drawing.

In the drawing, Fig. l is a side view in section of one form of lamp and connector comprised in our invention; Fig. 2 is an elevation, partially in section, of a headlight assembly comprising our invention; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a modifled form of lamp; Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are elevations in section of further modifications; and

portion of the bulb III by cement H. A tubular pin terminal or connector l8 projecting beyond the end of the shell I6 is mounted in insulating material i 9 fixed in the end of said shell, said material is preferably being glass in which a portion of the pin 18 is embedded. The-leadingin wire i2 is connected to the shell l6, as by solder 20, while thewire I3 is brought through the tubular pin l8 and connected to the end thereof, as by solder 2|. The lamp is shown 10 mounted in a reflector 22 which may be fixedly united thereto by solder 23.

The connector 23' for cooperating with the pin 18 comprises a helical spring 24 mounted at one end on a flexible conductor comprising .a plurality H of strands of wire 25. Preferably, the spring 24 is clamped unto a metal tube '26 which is mounted on the end of an insulating covering 2'l'sur-' rounding said strands of wire 25. The ends 28 of said wires 25 are bent back over the end of 20 said covering 27 before the tube 26 is applied, so as to lie in contact with the interior of the tube 26. The end 2a of the tube 26 is crimped inward into the covering 21. A tubular insulating cover 36, preferably of soft rubber, surrounds the 26 spring 24 to prevent externalcontact therewith. The spring 26 is deformed so that the axis thereof is not a straight line. In the preferred form the end turns 35 of the spring 2d are deformed (bent or offset) sidewise with respect to the remainder thereof, so that when the said spring is slipped over the end of the pin 58, the axis thereof will be brought back to a straight line and.- the turns thereof will firmly grip the said pin with an elastic pressure all along its length, pro- 5 viding a very eificient electrical contact.

As shown in Fig. 1, the reflector 22 is mounted and secured directly on the lamp base l5, without the intervention of a socket. For this purpose, the reflector 22 has a rear opening for the base with a rearward extending and flared (beaded) flange or lip 32 that fits the base fairly 'closely, yet allows it to be slightly tilted in the opening for the purpose of focusing, as well as to be shifted axially for the same purpose. After focusing, the base is fixed and secured to the reflector 22 by soldering the rear edge of the lip 32 to the base shell is at 33, or by any other method of fused metal attachment. The fuses or soldered joint 33is made at a point suillciently behind the basing cement ll to obviate possible fusion of the latter and dislocation of the lamp ill in the base. The pin it extends rearwardfrom the insulation I9, behind the reflector 22. 86

Referring to Fig. 2, the connecting means comprising our invention is shown as applied to one form of a vehicle headlight wherein the reflector 22, mounted on the base l5 of a lamp, is located in a housing 34. The said reflector is fastened immovably by flange 35 and screws (not shown) to the housing 34, and is covered by a lens 36. The conductor 25 exten'dsthrough an insulating washer 31, mounted in a hole in the housing 34, to the switching and battery equipment.

Referring to Fig. 3, the lamp shown therein is the same as the lamp in Fig. 1, except that it has two pins l8, l8a, the leading-in wires l2, l3 being respectively connected thereto.

The lamp in Fig. 4 is similar to the lamp in Fig. 1 except that the base shell 38 comprises a lower tubular skirt portion 39 of smaller diameter than the main body portion, but large enough to afford ample clearance or room for the connector 23 around the pin 40, which is thus exposed inside the skirt 39. The skirt 39 protects the pin '40 from lateral bending stresses sufficient to overstrain and deform it. Said shell portion or skirt -39 surrounds and protects the pin 40, a portion connected to the shell 38, while the wire I3 is connected to the pin 40.

The lamp in Fig. 5 is similar to the lamp in Fig. 3 except that the tubular base shell 42 extends slightly beyond the ends of pins 43, 44, portions of which are embedded'in insulating material 45 fixed in the mid-region of the shell, the shell portion beyond the insulation 45 forming the protective skirt. The lead wires l2, l3 are connected to pins 43, 44 respectively.

Inthe lamp shown in Fig. 6, a pin 48 is embedded in insulating material 49 fixed in the end of the base shell I6. The said insulating material comprises a depending tubular protective skirtportionifl surrounding the pin 48 in the same manner as the tubular metal portion 39 in middle in the form shown in the drawing.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. The combination of an electrical device comv prising a bulb and a base, said base having a terminal pin extending from the end thereof and an elongated protective skirt surrounding the entire length of said pin, and a current supply conductor having an elastic connector'surrounding said pin within said skirt so that said pin is protected from sidewise pull on the conductor.

2. An electrical device comprising a bulb and a base, said base having a terminal pin extending 10 from the end thereof and an elongated protective skirt surrounding the entire length of said pin and spaced therefrom to provide clearance for a connector.

3. An electrical device comprising a bulb and a 15 base, said base comprising a cylindrical metal shell mounted at one end on said bulb, and a terminal pin mounted in insulating material within said shell and spaced therefrom and extending toward the opposite end thereof, said end of said 20 shell forming a protective skirt around the entire length of said pin.

4. An electrical device comprising a bulb and a base, said base comprising a cylindrical metal shell reduced in diameter at one end, the enlarged 5 end of said shell being mounted on said bulb. a body of insulating material in said shell at the shoulder formed by the reduced portion, and a terminal pin having one end embedded in said insulating material and disposed within and 30 spaced from said reduced shell portion, said reduced shell portion forming a protective skirt around said pin.

5. An electrical device comprising a bulb and a base, said base comprising a metal shelland a 35 body of insulating material mounted in the end thereof, said body of insulating material comprising a tubular skirt portion extending outward from said shell, and a terminal pin having one end mounted in said insulating material and dis- 40 posed within and spaced from said tubular skirt portion.

6. In a vehicle headlamp, the combination of a housing having an opening at the front thereof, a reflector in said housing having a peripheral 45 flange securei to the front of said housing and also having an opening therein, a lamp comprising a base mounted in said opening and secured directlyto said reflector, said base having aterminal pin extending from the end thereof behind 50 said reflector, and a current supply conductor having an elastic connector gripping said pin.

THEODORE W. FRECH.

WALTER J. GEIGER. 

